New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-02-27
SOME BUSY AMERICANS.
NOTES OF WHAT THEY ARE AT WORK UPON.

NJ the Post Office Department in the st of supplies,
notably postage stamps The cost of the last yearly
| supply TO the Government was about Tl3OOoo.
The contracts are OF tour years Duration This year
the cost even with the increased number OF stamps
| used will be only about 100000. The country
uses hundreds OF millions OF stamps annually. nc
Government postage stamps years ago were printed III
Philadelphia, the cost being Is cents per thousand.
1t was gradually cut down BY competition nnth py
the last contract IL was about lo cents me h
contract price is triie over cents ihereoy nangs
q tale. The Bureau OF Engraving ana frinihg IN .ho
Treasur, Department was for long time barred IRON
competing for this in the Post Once Depart
moni. Cnd-i Secretary Folger the Buroau s"cured
thu privilege OF Offering bids. This brought another
competitor into the field. and when the day arrived
tor making the awards Triangular hit seemed I'M
minent. The American Bank Note Company, the
Homer Lee Bank Note Company and bureau repre- repre-
, e"e the bIds. Bidders TOR Government work
have generally four five bids prepared at Inherent
prices and put in at the last moment thg one Wnaor
Lee hank Note Company had recently carried OIL nv
competition the Government work OF printing me
postal notes and when Its representa- We poln,y
the other bidders made haste to put ~ their powest
bids. When the Lee envelope was opened IL was
found to contain only letter 10 tng ond
detai of the work. The other bidders were para
| lived and INDIGNANT. as they had cut away uhnsr
cost but the lowest bid was accepted anu thus inc
total saving o. S12C 900 Tor tour years OF which MI.
Hazen boa,ted was effected
While the saving to the Government has been COM
rarat, ely large there has been perceptible decline
in the quality OF the work. which is in keeping with
the reputed saving in other departments OF the Tow
ernmenr There seems, indeed. to be an idea preva-
lent In the several departments that cheapness is pref;
era ble TO excellence This IL not an Idea when WIZ
stand with the public This Is a nation oil letter
writer's Postage stamps carry American letters 10
every nation the globe. The character ana qnaiity
OF postage stamp are ID some measure means ny Nv
which to Judge the Government thar emits It, In TINS
direction the Government might snher more Simply
in loss OF good opinion among the peoples OF the globe
by poor quality Of work than the saving oil T3oUUo
n wear for four years would In any repay. This
applies somewhat to every class OF Gyernment GER
tfcates. as well AS stamps.
In talk the other day with Ex-Governor Cameron,
OF Virginia. be referred TO two large industries OF his
State by saying that Virginia raises more peanuts
than wheat and that sunac gathering has assumed
leading position as industry. The sumac grows
wild and ia gathered by the cOored people Mt a time
ot the wear wien thew have nothing else to do. They
Dick the blossoms in great bags which they carry 10
the cities where the sumac is dried and pulVerzed
for chemical and medicinal uses. AT ictersOurs'
Virginia which ia the of the sumac growth tho
production amounts to n mil ION dollars year.
A man with an idea who is going up ana down
NewYork trying to put ii into permanent execution Is
OK congressman +. Moody Boynron, OF Newburyport'
Massachusetts. His project Is single track railroad
to he run by engine built on the principle OF
bi!yco lie has worked the plan out IN minute %e
cability to the last degree. Mr.. Boynton ~ spare
man with coal black whiskers and black eyes. lie
wears An overcoat trim" Ell with beaver fur and
silk hat He talks more words in minute than the
best stenoc apher would care 10 undertake to re-
produce. Years ago he invented what are known ~
lightning saws which were serrated ana Med so mat
they cut both coming and going lie made fortune
ont OF the Invention hut lost it IN unfortunate bust
ness relations His wife il wealthy in her own name
and their home at Newburyport OF the finest IN
that part OF New England. The Emperor OF Brazil
was n guest there on hIs VISIT 10 this country. Mr.
Boynon boasts OF having b en- privately presented to
Queen Victoria years He was elected TO Con
gress once by the Grecnback ana Labor vote ana Is
still an intense advocate OF the theories OF Green
hackers.
Homer Loughn. of the East Liverpool potteries,
saws that the manufacturers OF chinaware IN this
country have recently been graticd by the discovery
of beds of kaon in Texas OF a finer quality than any
thing that they have heretofore used in producing
porceain bodies Colonel Baker. of ToXas tells this
story about the discovery OF the kaon In That state
which reads like n fairy romance On the tower OF
the old cathedral at san Antonio. Texas il TO be
AN arrow pointing to the northwest. Tradition says
that il points to old silver mine which IL known TO
have existed many years hg" S,'n n'ono hr. "' Of
silver ore, weighing from forty to sixty pounds.
There are many OF these old abandoned mines within
n radius OF $50 miles from San Antonio where the
prIe-ts had fortified converts aud worked the mincs
with Mcxicans. This pointer upon the cathedral Is
supposed 10 indicate the direction 10 mine OF I'm
meri-e value. and the manuscript regarding H. II Il
SAID ma be found IN the archives OF the church For
wears past miners have been searching Tor this mne,
the location OF which kept secret, owing 10 the
deprcdaons of the hostile Indian tribes in possession
of the country. Recently while prospecting tor silver
in the direction alluded to- some miners discovered
the deposits of kaOlin. or docomOOsed fcdspar IL u
better known ne Chinese white In appearance IL
looks like snow-white coal There IL also n vein Of
beautiful pink also another OF blue SIX shafts
have already been sunk aud a large quantity mas
| been raised TO the surface
In a talk with Mr.. Loughlin and Colonel Baker it
| 81. Gua Of fh. oh
covered in Texas are imported from Europe for in
the manufacture OF white papers well IA porcelain
| The most famous porcelain works In the world
| al Seyres in France. The manufacture OF pottery
| ware tas grown rapidly IN this country under the
Protective arih IRON We or sA poteres IA 1861 to
more than eighty at the present time Trenton New
Jersey is perhaps the largest single city engaged
| the pottery business. The largest number OF work
inrInen Is employed in the East Liverpool region In
| Ohio, hut Groenpoint, Baltimore, Philadelphia Now
Orleans and Indianapolis are becoming large pro-
| ducers of porcelain ware. The, have been handi-
capped by the necessity OF going abroad Tor the best
| kaolin
| chairman Hogeboom of the Assembly committee
that was investigating the coal strike was asked if
| they had been able to got any definite information
from the strikers with reference TO the alleged evils
OF which they complained when the strike was bc gun
| Mr. Hogeboom replied We had large number OF
witnesses from among the lahOring but alter we
| had heard two Of them might Just ns well have
| dispcnsed with the others their relation was the
| same throughO | think the investigation had a
GOOD effect in showing how strikes arc started with
out full appreciation understanding by the men of
| the grounds OF their complaints"
II il reported that railroad combination is being
| formed by which the New-York Central NAV get
direct to Cincinnati other than over tho Bee
| Line " and that within short time n company has
| been organized 20 build ninety miles of road from
| Geneva n. Y, to poiut In Northeastern Ohio winch
| will make the connecting link 10 secure the dcsiIcd
object Tho Ohio roads which would be controlled
| tor this scheme would he the Cleveland Mount Ver
non aud Columbus and the Scioio Vale, or n there
should be failure to secure the latter. tho project Is
| 10 build n few miles the road below Col1mLus to
Washington Court House and thence TO 90 into GIN
cinnati on the Cincinnati and Northeastern road rho
| Cincinnati and Northeastern road Ia at present a
narrow gauge but wac recently recognized and
having been originally prepared for the standard
| oauoe il now beup converted